Mumbai: The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) arrested a prominent member of the drug mafia, Shreyas Nair, for allegedly supplying drugs to Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan and his accomplices, who were arrested in connection with a drug party on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.
Available indications are that Shreyas Nair is a Malayalee having high Goa connections. According to the NCB, he has been actively involved in drug trafficking for quite some time. The NCB's allegation is that Shreyas handed over drugs to 25 persons, who were inside the luxury cruise ship, Cordelia. Shreyas took the money for drugs from the customers through cryptocurrency, after secretly receiving the order online.
The NCB's assumption is that Shreyas, who is very close to Aryan and Arbas Merchant, used to party with them. Shreyas was supposed to board the luxury ship along with them on that day but made a last-minute withdrawal. The NCB got the details of Shreyas from the WhatsApp conversation he had with Aaryan and Arbas.
Meanwhile, the NCB claimed to have seized from Aryan and Arbas a number of documents, including mobile chats, pictures and financial transactions. The NCB is also probing the alleged role of the owners of the ship, the Delhi-based company that chartered the ship to Goa, and the organizers of the drunken party in the case.
Aryan sent to NCB custody
Aryan Khan’s bail plea was rejected by the court in the case. All the eight arrested persons, including Aryan, were remanded in NCB custody till October 7.
The NCB alleged in the court that Aryan and Arbas had close ties with the Shreyas. The NCB alleged in the court that the arrested persons had used code language for chatting over their mobile phones. The NCB further alleged that the accused had links with foreign drug mafia operators.
The lawyer, representing Aryan, however, argued that no drugs had been seized from Aryan and that he had come to attend the party on the ship at the invitation of the organizers. He alleged that Aryan, who had no connection with the ship owners, was made a scapegoat in the case.
However, the NCB said that the son of the film star was using drugs at the time of his arrest. The court sent him in NCB custody while pointing out the importance of completing the investigation in the case in a time-bound manner.
During the raid, the NCB had seized six grams and five grams of hashish each from Arbas Merchant and Moon Moon Dhamecha respectively. The drugs were also seized from the accused persons such as Nupur Satija, Ismeet Chanda, Mohak Jaiswal, Gomit Chopra and Vikrant Choker.
Aryan bursts into tears
According to NCB officials, Aryan Khan burst into tears many times during interrogation. It is learnt that he admitted to the NCB that he had been using drugs for the last four years. Aryan was allowed to talk to Shah Rukh Khan, who was away in Spain for a film shooting, for two minutes over the phone.
